Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [178]
Zipper (Map; 323-951-0620; www.zippergifts.com; 8316 W 3rd St, Mid-City; 11am-7pm Mon-Sat; ) Pottery Barn graduates with a mod penchant will love this pretty pad packed with handpicked whimsies for the home. Even day-to-day items get a zany twist here, like that leaf-shaped teacup or tiger-striped cocktail shaker. Nice take-home gifts for your design-forward friends.
HD Buttercup (Map; 310-558-8900; 3225 Helms Ave, Culver City; 10am-7pm Mon-Sat, 11am-6pm Sun; ) A home decorator’s nirvana, this airy, super-sized showroom in the former art deco Helms Bakery unites innovative and top-quality items from dozens of manufacturers. Silky bed linens to vintage steel desks, Turkish rugs to postmodern coffeetables, you’ll find them here, along with bath and body products, gift items and jewelry.
Livinggreen (Map; 310-838-8442; 10000 Culver Blvd, Culver City; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat; ) ‘It’s not easy being green’ opined Kermit, but after a trip to this eco-superstore we beg to differ. From natural-fiber rugs to Tassajara bamboo furniture to nontoxic paints and cleaners by Ed Begley, you’ll find everything you need for your eco-lifestyle.
Algabar (Map; 323-954-9720; 342 S La Brea Ave, Mid-City; 11am-5pm Tue-Fri, noon-5pm Sat) Forget about mass brands, Gail Baral has hopscotched from India to Japan to France to source handmade tableware, linen, frames, vases and other inspired lifestyle enhancers. These share her lofty space with fine teas from Mariage Frères, waiting to be sampled at the in-house tasting bar along with gourmet olive oils, chocolate and other tasty treats.
Surfing Cowboys (Map; 310-450-4891; 1624 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice; 11am-7pm Tue-Sat, 11am-6pm Sun) Mid-century modern gets a beachy twist in this loftlike warehouse where a recent visit turned up a motorized long board, trippy hula-girl lamps and a Scarpa glass coffeetable.
Music
LA’s indie music stores have been dying off at an alarming rate and even the legendary Tower Records bit the dust in 2006. Here are some of the survivors:
Amoeba Music (Map; 323-245-6400; 6400 W Sunset Blvd, Hollywood; 10:30am-10pm Mon-Sat, 11am-9pm Sun; ) Click, click, click… is the sound of scores of customers flipping through half-a-million new and used CDs, DVDs, videos and vinyl at this granddaddy of music stores. Handy listening stations keep you from making buying faux pas. Call the store or check the LA Weekly for free in-store live performances by touring bands.
Rockaway Records (Map; 323-664-3232; 2395 Glendale Blvd, Silver Lake; 11am-7pm; ) Rockaway buys, sells and trades all types of great music. Used CDs are fairly priced and there are plenty of booths for prepurchase listening. Collectors can forage through the rare-music section or stock up on posters, magazines and memorabilia.
Starbucks Hear Music (Map; 310-319-9527; 1429 Third St Promenade, Santa Monica; 9am-11pm Sun-Thu, 9am-midnight Fri & Sat) Starbucks’ prototype music store is still pulling in throngs looking for handpicked jazz, blues, world, folk and electro. You can prelisten to each CD or burn your own compilation at the Listening Bar.
Head Line Records (Map; 323-655-2125; 7706 Melrose Ave, Mid-City; noon-8pm) This is one of the best places in town for indie punk and hardcore, both domestic and rare imports, including limited editions. Owner John is a good source for plugging into the scene.
Odds & Ends
Wacko (Map; 323-663-0122; 4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Feliz; 11am-7pm Mon-Wed, 11am-9pm Thu-Sat, noon-6pm Sun) Billy Shire’s giftorium of camp and kitsch has been a fun browse for over three decades. Pick up dashboard Jesuses, a Frida Kahlo mesh bag, an inflatable globe or other, well, wacky, stuff. In back is La Luz de Jesus (Map), one of LA’s top lowbrow art galleries.
Taschen (Map; 323-933-9211; 6333 W 3rd St, Mid-City; 9am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-8pm